Boston Council Hears Plans to Replace 28-Year-Old Development Review Rules

BOSTON — July 15, 2024 — Boston City Council hears sweeping proposal to modernize Article 80 development review process. The Committee on Planning, Development, and Transportation, chaired by Councillor Sharon Durkan, held a hearing Monday on Docket 0192, with Chief of Planning Arthur Jemison and Deputy Director Nippur Moudani presenting draft recommendations drawn from more than 2,600 survey responses and 50-plus focus groups. Key proposals include replacing individual project impact advisory groups with trained, stipend-eligible community advisory teams operating under term limits, introducing standardized mitigation formulas for most projects, and requiring a new displacement disclosure from developers — a move Jemison said is designed to make approval politically untenable for any project that cannot solve displacement on its own. Lead sponsor Councillor Gabriela Coletta Zapata pressed the panel on where city councillors fit in the new decision-making structure; Councillor Liz Breadon described a case in which a developer profited from flipping an approved project while a promised million-dollar community benefit was never built; and Councillor Edward M. Flynn warned that the new structure risks giving too much power to planners at the expense of elected officials and organized labor. The Planning Department said a public action plan will be released in late August or early September, with a comment period of up to two months before draft zoning language goes to the Zoning Commission in winter or spring 2025.